Murder Charges Dropped Against Ex-Nurse

.c The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Prosecutors dropped first-degree murder charges against a former Veterans Affairs hospital nurse who was accused of killing 10 patients more than a decade ago.

The Boone County Circuit Court Clerk's office confirmed that the 10 murder counts against Richard Williams were dropped, but the reason for the decision was not immediately announced. Williams was released from the county jail shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, jailer Melissa Veltrop said.

Williams was arrested in June 2002 and charged in the deaths of 10 patients at Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia in 1992. At the time, authorities said new tests not available at the time found 10 patients who died under Williams' care had been given succinylcholine, a powerful muscle relaxant.

Boone County Prosecutor Kevin Crane was in a meeting Wednesday and not immediately available for comment about why the charges were dropped. Crane had said he planned to seek the death penalty at the trial, which had been scheduled to begin in October.

08/06/03 13:53 EDT